AMER: Mosport rounds 13, 14 qualifying notes

Gianmarco Raimondo, Giancarlo Vilarinho Earn Formula BMW Americas Mosport Poles
Friday's final Formula BMW Americas qualifying rounds of the season yielded a sort of
redemption for a pair of drivers who were firmly entrenched in the...

Friday's final Formula BMW Americas qualifying rounds of the season yielded a sort of
redemption for a pair of drivers who were firmly entrenched in the championship fight until
Gabby Chaves clinched the title two weeks ago.

Canadian Gianmarco Raimondo posted the fastest lap of the day to win his first pole
position of the year during today's morning session at Mosport International Raceway,
while Brazilian Giancarlo Vilarinho rebounded from his Road America accident to snare
the pole for Sunday's race in today's afternoon outing.

Raimondo played his cards perfectly in the morning session, putting his Autotecnica
machine in the optimal spot for the waning minutes of the 30-minute qualifying run. He
found space on the 2.4-mile track and got his Michelin tires to the perfect temperature
before laying down a top lap of 1:21.638 on his very last lap to claim his first pole of the
season.

"That was a good lap, we worked everything perfectly and I was able to put it all together,"
Raimondo said. "That's when the car is at its fastest is when you're on your last laps and
you've got the tires right where you want them. You just have to be in the right spot to take
advantage of the opportunity when you get it, and we made it happen today. I am very
pleased."

Raimondo's blistering lap allowed him to knock series champ Chaves to the outside of the
front row, while Vilarinho slotted into the third spot alongside Eurointernational teammate
Michael Lewis. The American Lewis was the quickest of the four rookies that are still in the
chase for the rookie championship, and will start fourth - one spot ahead of rookie leader
James Kovacic.

The second round of qualifying yielded some slower times as heavy cloud cover threatened
to turn the outing into a wet-weather session. But the slower times made for a tighter field
as Vilarinho's polewinning time of 1:21.916 was less than a tenth of a second faster than
the time of third-placed Raimondo.

"It was good for me to come back and do well after the Road America accident," Vilarinho
said. "We have a good car and the guys are working hard, so hopefully tomorrow we can go
out and win a race."

Vilarinho set his best time, which put him in the front row alongside his Eurointernational
stablemate Chaves, with eight minutes to go in the session, but a red flag caused by Alex
Ellis' spin made it hold up. The cleanup from the incident left the field with one flying lap
to try and improve their positions, but none of the drivers were able to do so.

As was the case during the morning qualifying, Lewis was again the highest-qualifying
rookie and will start fourth, just one spot ahead of Kovacic. All four of the rookie
contenders will be able to follow each other on Sunday as Ellis and Team Apex's Joao
Horto will grid sixth and seventh.

The series will conduct one race tomorrow with the grid set by today's morning qualifying,
with another race Sunday with the grid set by today's afternoon session.